Month: November 2011

While I was exploring the outer rims of office buildings the other day, I discovered a feature most modern elevators seem to be missing: ashtrays. I am sure you are aware of the ashtrays in airplanes. Even the most modern airplanes, like the Airbus A380, have ashtrays. One has to be prepared in case smoking becomes a fashion topic in a distant future, I guess. A plane is around for some years after all… This elevator definitely was.

On friday, 11.11.11, I enjoyed Steve Lukather on his All’s Well That End Well tour live on stage at the Markthalle in Hamburg. He was accompanied by Eric Valentine on drums, Renee Jones on bass and the marvelous Steve Weingart on keyboards. As a huge fan of TOTO and Steve himself, it is needless to say, it was a great show.

Basically, I followed the career of Steve my entire life (at least as long as I can remember) and already witnessed TOTO in Hamburg late this summer. I was amazed by the form the guys were in. This time again, I was blown away by the energy on stage. It is so much fun to watch Steve these days. It surely was one his best shows so far (and I have seen him quite often, be sure of that). I just wish he would be here more often.

As a musician and media technician at heart I must attest that the PA at the Markthalle in Hamburg is not to be recommended for anything sophisticated or to anyone with high standards. Sorry!

Sorry for the low res photos, but I am on a 3G data connection right now. If you want to dive in more deeply, you can always join Steve Lukather on facebook.

The band was ok, with a solid bass player and decent drummer. The guitarist did not impress me much, I must admit. All in all it was sure worth the money. The old albums are far more recommendable, especially those from the old days of Fusion with Miles Davis, Billy Cobham or Stanley Clarke.

George Duke live

George Duke live

To get a feeling, take a look at this clip I found from the concert at the Fabrik.

Although it makes me sad, the team behind the table connect for iPhone revealed the truth behind their viral campagne at TEDxVienna on October 22… it’s a fake afterall. Take a look at the video of the event:

I admit, I am happy to have the new iPhone 4S, although Siri does not satisfy my deepest desires for finally having a computer to talk just like the Star Trek Computer Voice. However, one thing does not make me happy. Compared to the iPhone 4, the new iPhone seems to be of lesser quality in terms of material. It feels cheap and it makes a disturbing buzzing noise while vibrating.

This is already an issue in Apple’s support community but a statement from Apple has not been issued yet. There is even a recording of it. Quite disturbing, isn’t it? Someone in the support thread says, he’s gotten a new iPhone at an Apple store without the error. Somehow I am not convinced that’s the solution. So far I’ve seen 5 iPhone 4S. They all had the same buzzy noise.

Maybe I have to put the iPhone in a vibration absorbing case and wrap it in plastic, as someone I know did (for other reasons of course). It sure looks like a new artform but it’s not the right way for me. So I really hope Apple comes up with a better solution.

Although it’s almost Christmas again, it seemed quite strange to see the Christmas decoration available at The Holiday Shoppe in Sausalito, California. Not only was it almost 70° F (around 22° C) late that night, there was a snow machine on display.

There are tons of other things available. If you love Santa and always wondered what he’d do in California, take a look at this 10″ Sand Bar Santa for just $68.99.